“I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think, all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read,

, and all the friends I want to see.”

John Burroughs



Oh Hi! Another busy weekend and week is chugging along.
While I have much to share- and I know I should, I am slacking once again on my frequency of posting.
It happens.

My typical day goes-
School run,
dog run,
maybe nap,
help Ri around the house-eat everything in sight, try to encourage him to eat,
probably cleaning,OR on Tuesdays I help in the classroom,
another school run
- homework school help,
hangout -possibly with a guest/relative visit,
make dinner,
pack Rory's lunch,
tuck the kid in with a story,
watch bad tv, or a movie with Ri
passout.

...and here I thought I wouldn't have anything to do when she started school.


Friday Sari & Ri's Mom came out to visit, bringing Lily to hang out -
Lily came in and ran right to Rory's room she couldn't wait for her cousin to get home-
Rory LOVES seeing someone at her house when she gets home, which was extra cool because she had wanted to follow her friend Rosie to her house- and we(her mom and I ) hadn't really planned for that either.. so at least I had someone else fun for her to hang out with at home, to save me a melt down.









They played all over the backyard and then came in and colored with their Grammy while Sari took Ri and I to target. we were on a mission to find an aquatic themed Littlest pet Shop toy for the birthday party Rory was invited to Saturday.

The backyard is cool, and Rory can play out there in the grass for hours- but her fav thing to do outside is play in the back of the pick-up truck


If you could explain what makes this so awesome to little kids I would be shocked.




She has been BEGGING for weeks for me to get a picture of her in the back of the truck.
Seriously.Why?


She blew kisses by to Grammy,Sari, and Lily. Then picked out her clothes and got ready for bed- Soo excited to go to her 1st birthday party for her classmate also named Lily.

I am soo glad Rory's bf Rosie's mom offered to take us.
We had planned on going, but then Boo was going to be off for the weekend, and Ri,and everyone else I knew was working- So I had to tell Rory we wouldn't be able to go, and I know it broke her heart. As I was explaining it to the birthday girls mom ,Rosie's mom overheard and offered to take us. the idea of riding with her best friend may have been just as exciting as the pool party

..that's right a pool party in October, the weird fall has worn off- this if fall in Florida folks:

Rory was up at 7am getting her suit on.

It was too cold for me in the pool though. All the kids went in. this is were I feel immense guilt for living in Florida and Rory being afraid to swim. I brought her life jacket. I need to get her lessons.



watching the other kids run and swim underwater was amazing to me.


She LOVED swimming with these dolphins- AND they gave each kid one as a party favor, Rory picked out a blue one :)





Rory and Rosie
They are pretty much inseparable.But still friends with everyone else.
They had snacks and cake and crafts -

the whole crew- I didn't take this pic my battery died, hopefully no one minds me posting it here.

Rory LOVED seeing all the cool gifts everyone got the birthday girl too. It was a really great party they did an awesome job and Rory had a blast. They even sent us home with cool giftbags of little toys instead of candy.

but,,,
Remind me to remind the kid not to pick her nose. especially not put her finger in her mouth after wards,
especially not in front of teenage girls.
embarrassing.
Almost as embarrassing as when the tired overstimulated child started throwing an all out tantrum on the way home... one of those everything was wrong fussfests(later she told me she was cold and it made her grumpy).
At least Rosie's mom was completely understanding and awesome about it.


Sunday I tried to get as much rest as possible. I made yummy dinner too- quorn in asparagus soup- mashed potatoes, and veggie mix.
Mom brought me a HUGE stash of chips, So Rory has been eating more junk than I would like..

Monday was pretty rough on us all- Ri and I woke up gross feeling from staying up too late and drinking acidic beer- and Rory just was ready to go back to school- but way over tired.
She even got her behaviorbear changed to yellow for the 1st time ever! She was trying to pick up her classmate.. I have told her time and time again to stop that, I am afraid one day she will get hurt,or hurt another kid :( . The teacher even emailed me to tell me about it, but she said Rory actually fell asleep during naptime- and got her bear back to blue by the end of the day.So I guess she was just tired.

She was in a much better mood on Tuesday when I went in to help in the classroom. Another Mom was there this time- she has twins and an older child- she was much better at handling chaos than me,it worked out really well with the both of us. I love the little bit of time I get to help in the classroom- though I think Rory may be a touch fussier just because I am there. Her teacher is awesome and understanding,every visit I am amazed how she manages all of the little crazy things.I am mentally exhausted from being in there for just a hour!

All that going on has made my halfway through the week seem like a whole 2weeks.
I need a nap.

I didn't get one today either, Did my normal school run , run the dog-eat mass quantities and watch bad tv, plus helped Ri get ready for a short shift at work.
Then Mom(Eggy) my sisters (Lissy and Amy) - and Nico and Allura showed up ready to go on a picnic.
We rushed to carseat jenga and fitting between them acrobatics- then picked up Rory early release from school. Rory was a little disappointed she'd only got crayons out of the treasure box for her hard earned 10 bears
- but pleased she got a treat picnic with my fam. And we stopped by Nalu's to say HI to her dad and tell her where we were going :) .

Chaotic run through the grocery store and dollar store later we finally made it to Washington Oaks for a picnic.

Well.. most of us made it. Nico and Allura made a detour at dreamland for a little while










fat squirrel was uncomfortably unafraid of us


"I'm not fat, I could really use a sammich, pass one over"



Amy is grand sammich making master. She even made a sandwich Rory ate some of..we mostly ate junk.


I mean.. other people ate junk. We can't help it, Nico is addicted to the dollartree twizzler mocks called Kenny's
How could i deny him that??
Poor kid.
Everyone knows those are awesome.. except me I don't eat junk like that....

you can't prove anything.
(Mom bought me earrings! Aren't they cute?)

We set the kids loose through the playground for a bit, and packed up.

We did a quick run around the gardens-- at this point all really aware why our children ,are only children.
Bless mothers of more than one. I am not built for such tasks.
Case in point..group photos:








They are lucky they are cute.



It was REALLY buggy. I mostly just wanted to run away from the buggy scenery



the GIANT Koi where cool though






Oh noes- don't let them eat the baby








...then Rory saw the fountain and had to pee.. and we ended up running away from everyone else








..it took forever to remember where the bathroom was, and we then we couldn't find Mom&them.

-Rory wondered through the garden crying like we were lost forever, as the sprinklers turned on on us ,and the mosquitoes drank so much of my blood that I felt faint.
It was almost as fun as the noisy voice contest ride back home. I hope the little ones got some sleep on the long ride back to moms. I was sure glad to be home,and my ride was much shorter.

Ri is starting to get a bit more mobile. he likes that he can work a little bit- I was worried about him he seems so depressed. I hope he heals soon, this is soo stressful on us all.
Surprisingly, we all had enough energy to make an actual dinner together, and get Rory to finish her homework before sending her to bathe, then bed.

...and NOW , I am going to bed.I still have to wake at dawn and go a few more rounds with the rest of this week.
I know there are more pressing and interesting matters going on in the world.. but all my brain wants to do now is let my heavy eyelids close.
I have done enough.

Sunday is for rest,right???

PEACE AND TOFU CHICKEN GREASE,
BABYHELLFIRE